AMANDA KNOX kissed and hugged the former lover convicted alongside her of murdering student Meredith Kercher – as a fresh trial loomed.

The pair didn’t seem to have a care in the world during a secret meeting in New York.

But the tryst between Knox, dubbed Foxy Knoxy during her first sensational trial, and Raffaele Sollecito came just hours after they were ordered to return to Italy to face a retrial for the 2007 murder of Meredith.

Judges in Italy’s top court ruled that the possibility that Meredith died during a sex game that went wrong needed to be re-examined.

Their decision immediately cast doubt on whether Knox, 25, and Sollecito, 29, should be allowed to be in contact now they have been formally recalled.

The former couple split in the wake of their trial and the four years which they spent in prison for murdering Meredith, 21.

Knox is reportedly still living with boyfriend James Terrano in her home city of Seattle, Washington.

Italian engineering student Sollecito had been living in Lugano, Switzerland, until residents campaigned to have his residence permit revoked recently.

But on Tuesday, they had a tender reunion in New York, accompanied by Knox’s mother Edde Mellas.

(Image: Jae Donnelly)

An onlooker said: “They just looked like a normal couple who had been with each other a long time. Together with her mum, they explored Manhattan and took the subway to get around.

“You only have to look at him to see he still holds a huge torch for Amanda. He clearly finds her captivating.

“When they hugged, she closed her eyes as he gave her a tender kiss on her cheek.

“At one point, he put his arm around her to help warm her up. They never once stopped chatting.

“It’s astonishing they are allowed to even talk to each other let alone see one another considering they are both suspects in a murder trial.”

The pair spoke to each other in Italian and Edde walked several yards behind them.

When confronted, Knox and Sollecito were cagey about their reunion.

Knox, who is believed to be studying creative writing in the US and received a reported £2.6million advance for her book on her ordeal, refused to comment on the court’s ruling.

She also declined to confirm or deny reports that she planned to stay in the US and would not be returning to Italy to face justice.

Sollecito, who also says he has no wish to go back, said: “We have everything to do now. We have a lot of planning.”

Edde added: “We need to speak to our lawyers.”

Three months ago, the Supreme Court of Cassation overturned the couple’s 2011 acquittal by an appeal court in Perugia.

On Tuesday, they gave their reasons, saying that the decision was full of “deficiencies, contradictions and illogical conclusions” and ordered a retrial.

Meredith’s body was found in November 2007 in her bedroom in the house she shared with Knox in Perugia, a central Italian town popular with foreign exchange students.

Knox and Sollecito were initially convicted and sentenced to 26 years. But the Perugia appeals court released them after four years, criticising virtually the whole case against them.

(Image: Jae Donnelly)

The court noted the murder weapon was never found, said that DNA tests were faulty and that prosecutors provided no murder motive.

Drug dealer Rudy Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was convicted of the killing in a separate trial and is serving a 16-year sentence.

In the 74-page Cassation ruling, the judges said they “had to recognise he (Guede) was not the sole author” of the crime.

They said possible motives ranged from a simple case of forced sex involving Meredith “to a group erotic game that blew up and got out of control”.

In a trial that made headlines around the world, Knox said she was at Sollecito’s apartment having sex and watching a DVD with him when Meredith, from Coulsdon in Surrey, was killed.

Immediately after the body was found, the lovers were seen kissing and cuddling as police forensic teams gathered evidence.

Sources close to Sollecito claim he still loves Knox and hopes they may get back together one day.

When he announced their split in November 2011, he said tearfully: “Our love was like a seed that was not allowed to grow because it was brutally stamped on. We were both victims of a cruel injustice and our relationship was overcome.”

Sollecito, from Bari in southern Italy, has claimed he was offered a secret deal by prosecutors to implicate Knox but refused.

He added: “She told me that she thinks that I’m a kind of hero, but I don’t think so. I did it because I know it’s the truth. It’s the good thing to do. It’s the only way for me.”